With the NHL trade deadline passed, the focus in most hockey towns has already turned to the playoffs. In Edmonton though, a young team is still in full stride and presently sits in a wildcard position after successfully going on a 10-3 run in their last 13 games. Nobody predicted this type of run from a team that lost their first six games of the year and have had more than one goaltending change over the course of the season.

In my last article I looked at some aspects of each Oilers’ player’s career compared to those of former Oiler greats. In this edition, let’s take a closer look at the players that have improved the most over the course of this rookie season. I’ll also look at how the Oilers’ rank in key statistical categories compared to other teams around the NHL.

1917

The Montreal Canadiens become the first team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after coming back from a 3-1 series deficit. The Canadiens’ victory over the heavily favored Victoria Cougars was named as one of the greatest upsets in hockey history by author Ken Dryden, who also provides us with this quote:

“There is no come-back in any other sport that can compare to what we did.”

The Oilers may not have been down 3-1 but they certainly weren’t expected to win the Stanley Cup, either. It’s a memory that will stay with many of these players for their entire lives and it should give hope to Oiler fans as well.

1927

The Ottawa Senators win the Stanley Cup, becoming the first expansion team to win a championship. The original six era is born. It’s still alive and well today – only now there are 30 teams rather than six. 87 years after the birth of the NHL, it continues to be one of North America’s premier sports leagues.

The Oilers currently sit tied for third in the league with 95 points, putting them on pace for roughly 110 – 115 this season. With the way they’ve been playing lately it wouldn’t be surprising to see them hit that mark and potentially even challenge for 120 (the equivalent of winning two rounds). The only other teams to come close were the 2005-06 Ottawa Senators who missed the playoffs with 108, and the 2007-08 Boston Bruins who racked up 116.

1926

The Boston Bruins become the first American-based team to win the Stanley Cup. A total of five American teams have won the cup since then, with the most recent being the 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings.

The Oilers are part of a select group of North American teams that is expanding their game around the world. While they aren’t exactly new to this (they played three pre-season games in Germany last fall), it’s still exciting to see NHL hockey continue to grow. Currently, 14% of the league is made up of Americans while only 6.5% are Canadian (28 out of 30 teams). It’ll certainly be interesting to see how this changes in the coming years and whether or not any other North American teams will follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.

what player has won the most stanley cups

Stanley Cup Champions or Stanley Cup Winners are the winners of the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner. It is accepted that only one team wins the cup, but the names of members on winning teams are often mentioned in stories and lists.

The first Stanley Cup playoffs started in March 1916. The Montreal Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cups, having won a total of 23 Stanley Cups, which is also a record. The Toronto Maple Leafs come second with 13 cup wins and the Detroit Red Wings have won 11 cups.